CHAPTER V. 



ORCHARD PROTECTION. 

 lliroughout the whole life of fruit plants there Is danger 

 of injury from a variety of causes. At no time can we say that 

 our fruit plants are safe, and we must be continually on the 

 lookout to head off some injury. Among the more common of 

 these injuries may be mentioned the following: sunscald, win- 

 ter killing of the twigs, roots and fruit buds; injuries from 

 birds and live stock, from wind, rain and frost in the growing 

 season, from ice on the branches in winter, from girdling by 

 mice and rabbits, from label wires, injuries from cultivation and 

 from insects and diseases. 



Sunscald is the name given to 

 the condition of the bark of trees 

 which probably comes as a result 

 of exposure to the sun under cer- 

 tain peculiar conditions. Its ef- 

 fect is usually to kill the bark on 

 the south and southwest sides of 

 the tree; later on, this bark peels 

 off, leaving the wood exposed which 

 soon decays and permanent injuries 

 result. It is found that anything 

 which shades the trunk will pre 

 vent this, hence one of the com- 

 mon remedies is to shade the trunk 



^, ,» . , . , , with burlap, corn stalks or simi- 



Fig.16.— Apple tree injured by 



sunscald. lar material, especially during the 



time when the branches are not protected by leaves. Th? en- 

 couraging of branches on the south side of the tree to protect 

 the trunk from the sun, and the inclining of the trees to the 

 southwest, are also remedies. 



This injury is most liable to occur during severe droughts 

 and in the early spring or late winter before growth has fairly 

 started. It is supposed to be caused by the warm sun of the 



